After finishing in 5th place at the 2013 College Nationals, the Ewo are ready for another great year of ultimate!

Last spring was an exciting one, with the Ewo soundly winning the Metro Boston sectionals and New England regionals, and performing well at College Nationals. Additionally, captain Claudia Tajima finished 3rd in the voting for the annual Callahan Award (the college MVP award), a fantastic accomplishment! The Bwo also had a great season, making it to Divison I regionals (one of only two B-teams to do so) after a successful showing at the New England developmental sectionals.

Now that we have reluctantly said goodbye to our seniors, it’s time to begin another year of playing ultimate and having fun. Although our season is the spring, we play pickup and have casual practices in the fall. The A team and B team do not separate until the spring, so everyone in the program gets to play together! During orientation week, we play coed pickup with the men’s team, the Emen, and also have women only pickup. It’s a great opportunity for freshman and others looking to try the sport out to come see what Ultimate is all about. No experience is required, and we put emphasis on teaching basics. We’ll also be at the activites fair and have a fall interest meeting.

Our captains for 2013 will be seniors Hannah Garfield, Mia Greenwald, and Emily Shields. We are more than happy to answer any questions about our program, and can be reached by email at ewocaptains@googlegroups.com. As always, keep up with our Facebook page and our Twitter for updated information and hilarious posts. Enjoy the last few weekends of summer, and we hope to see many new faces at pickup!

After a fun and successful fall, the Ewo and Bwo are looking forward to another great spring! Both teams got a fantastic new group of players and are ready to show off their stuff once the frigid Boston weather warms up. Between practices in Gantcher, team workouts, and FITTFU on Fridays, everyone in the program is gearing up for an awesome season.

The Ewo have an exciting lineup of tournaments for the spring, including women’s College Centex, and are focused on performing well in the College Series to earn their third trip in a row to DI College Nationals, held this year in Madison, WI from May 24-27. The Ewo are lucky to have the continued help and guidance from our coaches, Sangwha and Meriden, and three amazing captains, Hailey, Claudia, and Gecko. Also, the great people at Five Ultimate deserve a huge thank you for sponsoring us again. We hope you all can make it out to a tournament sometime this season to support the ‘wo! Remember to follow us on Twitter for game updates and fun Ewo facts, and on Facebook.

Finally, Zilla introduces the Tufts Ewo A newbies:

TASHA. Spicy senior. Former bwoah. Got the chilly vibes on the field and the freaky grandma sweater as a dark. Bout to catch every crazy throw. Down with that.

TOGA. Jammin Junior. Former bwoah. Nala, she has cooler tights than you. A bunch of ’em. Skying biddies left n right with greek goddess style.

KATHY(katherine/khops). Tenacious Transfer. Snarkier thanGecko ever was. Lays out all over the place #lookscoolthou Bout to pull out some dirty bids in the clutch.

After receiving the one and only bid to College Nationals, the Tufts Ewo flew to Boulder, CO where they would be competing for the second year in a row. The Ewo saw many of the same teams at Stanford Invite in early March, but their game was new and slightly rusty. Therefore, the ‘wo were seeded 16th (and rightly so according to their season). Little did everyone know, the Ewo were about to create one of the largest upsets in Nationals history…

Friday, Day One – Pool Play (Virginia and Iowa State)

Despite daunting predictions of 20-30 mph winds forecasted for the weekend, Day 1 of Nationals proved to be a beautiful and calm day in the basin. Game one of pool play, the Ewo faced UVA Hydra, a quick team that was returning to Nationals for the second year in a row as well. In the first round of play, the Ewo came out a little slow in their first half as Virginia took the lead 3-0. The Ewo tried to answer back, but Virginia took half 8-2. Although it was a disappointing first half of a game, spirits were not down. The Ewo came back in the second half with a great layout grab in the endzone by Hailey Alm (’13), a spectacular catch by Olivia Rowse (’12) who faced off against four Virginia girls in the endzone and of course a few hammers by Claudia Tajima (’13) and Qxhna Titcomb (’15) to receivers Margot Lieblich (’13) and Mia Greenwald (’14). Final score, Virginia 15-9. Although the Ewo came out flat in the first half, this would be the last time they come out slow all weekend.

As they faced off against Iowa State in game two of pool play, the Ewo were ready to come out strong and prove their 16th seeding wrong. Iowa State, known to be a cohesive team that won Centex this year, came out surprising flat as the Ewo took the lead with beautiful throws by Mia Greenwald to start off the game 2-0. Iowa State was unable to generate turnovers on defense as Emily Shields (’14) repeatedly came down with the disc in the endzone, score Tufts 5-1. Iowa went on a four-point run to gain momentum, but the Ewo were unnerved and took half at 8-7. Coming out in the second half, with a hammer by Michaela Fallon (’14) and a deep huck by Iowa the game was tied at 9’s. However, the Ewo shred through Iowa’s zone and broke away ending the game at 15-10.

Saturday, Day Two – Pool Play (Ottawa and Cal)

Day Two began with the first match up against Ottawa, the last seed in Pool D. We started off strong, with killer blocks by Leah Staschke (’12) and Emily Shields (’14), allowing us to go up 2-0. Ottawa answered, keeping the first half of the game close, until the ‘wo finally got a break and took half 8-6. In the second half, our zone defense and accurate throws were too much for Ottawa. The Ewo went on a 4 point run to end the game 15-9.

News that Iowa State beat Pool D’s #1 seed, Cal, quickly reached the Ewo who originally thought they would be safe to move on to prequarters. Now, the ‘wo needed to beat Cal (or hope that Virginia would beat Iowa State) in hopes of playing on, and unwilling to rely on another team to save their skins, the Ewo prepared for the biggest game of their season yet.

The game started quickly, with Cal taking the first point on offense. Cal and Tufts continued to trade points, but Cal ultimately got a break to take the lead 6-5. However, incredibly accurate hucks from Claudia Tajima (’13) and Mia Greenwald (’14), with a sweet run through D from Qxhna Titcomb (’15), gave the Ewo another break to snatch the lead back, 7-6. Hot defense gave the Ewo another shot, who put it in to take half 8-6. After half, Cal got the D, closing the gap 8-7. However, Qxhna’s height in the endzone, along with a hand block by Hannah Garfield (’14), and killer throws from Claudia and Micheala Fallon (’14) gave the ‘wo a 3 point run, score now 11-7. The Ewo continued to work it down the field in their next points and never looked back. Final score 15-10.

The Ewo were ecstatic, pulling off a win against the #4 seed. But the real victory was realizing that, with a win against Cal and Iowa State beating Virginia, the Tufts Ewo won their pool, automatically advancing them to quarterfinals the next morning! The Ewo were one of four teams that did not have to fight their way through prequarters, giving them ample amount of time to rest up and play early the next morning!

Tufts Ewo after beating Cal to win their Pool!

Sunday, Quarterfinals vs. UNC

Sunday morning quarterfinals were at 8:30am and the ewo quickly started warming up for their match against the UNC Pleiades despite their unfortunate misplacement of the disc bag. The wind was strong at the start of the game, reaching 20mph, resulting in both teams trading points. Both Tufts and UNC received a few breaks, first UNC with a 5-4 lead, then Tufts with a 6-5 lead. The ‘wo continued to break away despite the wind and took half 8-5. The beginning of the second half started off strong with great defense by Tufts and help from Claudia, Shields, and Qxhna to put it in — Tufts up 10-6. However, UNC answered with a three point break to bring it to 10-9. After a great D from Michaela Fallon, she then caught it in the endzone to go up 12-9. With softcap on, the game would end at 14. UNC had an unfortunate drop by Tufts’ endzone which we capitalized on, and next point Hannah Garfield caught the winning goal to end the game 14-9.

Semifinals vs. UWashington Element

Could you believe it? The #1, 2, 3, and 16th seed would be competing in the semifinals! With the fields buzzing of our success, the Ewo took some shade under the tents and set their minds towards semifinals against the #2 seed, University of Washington Element.

Our game began at 1pm on the showcase field with every team watching. CBS sports network would be covering our game and suddenly there were cameramen running up and down the sidelines with us. Tufts won the flip and the Ewo would be starting on defense. Tufts wasted no time and soon had possession and Mia for the score, Tufts 1-0. Fired up from their first point, the ‘wo did it again with easy connections from Hailey Alm (’13) to Claudia Tajima, finding Michaela Fallon in the endzone. Tufts 2-0. Washington answered back, but so did Emily Shields (’14) finding the disc again and again. Tufts 3-1. In their next point, Hannah Garfield had a HUGE turbo block followed by the around break to Margot Lieblich (’13) for the 4-1 lead. With a three point lead, the Ewo were in Washington’s head, forcing them to take a timeout. And what a smart decision it was for UW, who quickly shook off their early game jitters and answered back with a five point break, now taking the lead 6-4. The Ewo finally punched it in, trailing by one, but UW took off again, taking half 8-5.

At the beginning of the second half, the Ewo turned it close to their endzone. But who better to come to the rescue on defense than Hannah Garfield who pushed the handlers back and then snatched the disc mid swing to score the Callahan!! With a new sense of excitement and energy, the Ewo used her fantastic play to keep the team in the game. UW continued to take the lead, but not without Tufts trailing by a couple points. Nearing the end, Element went up 12-9. The Ewo scored another and softcap went on, game now to 14. With a deep field huck by Claudia Tajima and an unbelievable catch in the endzone by Olivia Rowse (’12), the ‘wo were catching up. With a drop from UW, the ‘wo once again capitalized on offense with Olivia Rowse catching again and again, bringing the game to tied at 12s. But Washington finally punched one in, now 13-12, game point for UW.

But Tufts would not quit. With a sky from Hailey Alm, who later found Qxhna Titcomb for the point, the score was 13-13, universe point. The Ewo had the disadvantage on defense, which gave them even more determination. UW worked it all the way down the field, but Qxhna Titcomb came to the rescue when she batted the disc away in the endzone. Now on offense, the Ewo were in position to win it all. Hailey Alm grabbed it downfield and called a timeout at their endzone. With a play in mind, the Ewo set up to put it in one more time. Alm found Tajima inches from the corner of the endzone, who fell on the corner cone. One pass away, Tajima saw an open Shields and tried to hit her with a short flick. The disc floated inches away from a diving Shields, and ultimately ended in a turn. With a second chance on offense, UW would not be stopped this time, sending it deep to an open cutter who easily caught it for the score, and the win. Final score, 14-13.

Tufts Ewo after Semifinals -- Tied for 3rd at Nationals

After an incredible game of Ultimate that is sure to be talked about for years to come, the Ewo ended their season at the 2012 College Championships tied for 3rd. We couldn’t have dreamed of a more incredible weekend and we were so happy to have shared it with our family, friends, and alumni who supported us all the way.

Tufts is going to Nationals! After a great weekend of Ultimate at the New England Regionals, the Tufts Ewo secured the one and only bid to the D-I Women’s College Championships in Boulder, CO at the end of May.

Regionals began with an early 5:45am wake up call at the wonderful Chute residence, complete with hundreds of bagels, coffee, and juice. The Ewo made their way to Hanover where they would be playing Brown, Smith, and Northeastern-B in pool play. The weather was cool and there was a constant drizzle for the first couple games, but the Ewo used the wet fields to their advantage and dirtied up their jerseys the best way possible. The Ewo came to Regionals ready to show New England exactly why they deserve that spot at Nationals, and that’s exactly what they did.

Regardless of the team they were playing, the Ewo played hard every point. By the end of Saturday, the ‘Wo beat Brown (15-1), Northeastern-B (15-1), and Smith (15-5) and secured an advancement to the Quarters on Sunday morning.

Tufts Ewo after securing their bid to Nationals!

Sunday morning started again with a 5:45am wake up call and bagels, and this time the Ewo were looking forward to play some of their big time rivals in the quarters, semis, and ultimately the finals. The ‘Wo faced off against the familiar Harvard Quasars in the quarters. We took half 8-3 after some big plays by Qxhna Titcomb (’15), Michaela Fallon (’14), and Hailey Alm (’13). After half, continued to make solid offensive plays, rarely turning it over. On defense, Hannah Garfield (’14) caught a callahan to bring the score to 14-4, however it took three more points from the Quasar until the Ewo finally buckled down and ended the game. Final score, 15-7.

In the Semis, the Ewo got ready to play old time rival Dartmouth. After seeing them at College Southerns we knew they would be more prepared against our team and knew we were going to dig even deeper in order to get through to finals. Our first three points were scored by Hailey Alm, with great throws from Claudia Tajima (’13) and Mia Greenwald (’14). After a great huck from Hannah Garfield for the score, the ‘Wo took half 8-4. In the second half, Tufts and Dartmouth continued to trade a couple points before great plays from Emily Sheilds (’14) gave the Ewo the momentum they needed to finish the game. Final score, 15-8, and the Ewo advance to the Finals.

And of course, New England Regionals wouldn’t be the same is Tufts and Middlebury didn’t face off against each other in the Finals. With one game left and our season on the line, the Ewo were ready to play the game they’ve been prepping for all season long. Right away Midd scored the first point on offense. The Ewo answered and brought it to 1s almost immediately. And so began the most nerve-wracking half of our entire season as both teams continued to score on offense, trading points the entire way until Tufts had a short break, taking half 8-7. Starting on offense, the Ewo were ready to pull away. Claudia Tajima found Mia Greenwald and the Ewo were finally up by two. The ‘Wo killed it on defense in the second half, now shutting down Midd on nearly every point. Claudia Tajima once again had huge throws that found Emily Sheilds and Qxhna Titcomb downfield, and the Ewo took the game. Final score, 15-9, and the Ewo advance to Nationals.

With classes over and ample amounts of free time, the Ewo have been working hard these past couples weeks to give a showing at Nationals. The College Championships will be taking place in Boulder, CO, May 25th-28th.

The Ewo split Sectionals, the start to the series, between BC and Tufts’ very own home turf last weekend. The Ewo were seeded first in the Boston Metro pool, including Northeastern, Harvard, MIT, BC, and BU. With only 5 bids to Regionals in May, all teams would be fighting for top 5 to continue their season.

On Saturday, The ‘wo matched up against Northeastern, MIT, Harvard, and BC, beating all of them efficiently and letting up no more than 6 points against biggest threat, Northeastern.

On Sunday the ‘wo woke up excited to play at Tufts in front of friends and Family. First we had final pool play against BU, beating them 13-2. The Ewo then had a long bye until the semis vs. MIT. Semis proved to be a quick game with the ‘wo pulling together a 15-2 win giving them ample amount of time to rest up for the finals vs. Northeastern.

In the Finals, the ‘wo came out a little flat, letting up some easy goals to NE. The ‘wo kept up but started getting in their heads during the second half. After an amazing Callahan by sophomore Michaela Fallon, the ‘wo got back on top of their game and finally ended it, final score 15-11.

With two weeks left until Regionals, the ‘wo are dedicating nearly every day to workouts or practice. This year the New England region has been allocated only one bid to Nationals, making Regionals a true fight to the finish. Regionals will be held at Dartmouth in Hanover, NH on May 5th and 6th – If you’re in the area come out and cheer for the ‘wo as they fight to defend their title of New England Champions!

Welcome to Tufts Women’s Ultimate! We are so excited for the new season to start. The Ewo (Elephant Women) are nearly 60 strong this year and contain two great teams–the Ewo and the Bwo. While both teams compete at a very serious level, last year the Ewo competed in tournaments and the college series which took them Boulder, CO for the D-I College Championships. While maintaining a solid practice and workout routine year round, both teams are committed to the spirit of the game and having a good time!